Managing Anger Stress Test

Instructions: Read each statement and decide how you feel about it based on the choices to the right of the question. Ponts are awarded as follows: Strongly Agree: 4; Moderately Agree: 3; Moderately Disagree: 2; Strongly Disagree: 1;

Question:

Your Response:

1.

I hate to wait.

2.

Incompetent people annoy me.

3.

I often hold a grudge.

4.

I lose my temper easily.

5.

I hit things or throw things when I get angry.

6.

I curse when I am angry.

7.

I often find myself getting angry while driving.

8.

I get angry in public.

9.

Life often seems unfair.

10.

I can’t stand losing.

Your Total Score:

What Your Result Means:

Check to see if you have a pulse (then check your answers to be sure you are being honest with yourself) and then - if you pass those tests - congratulate yourself. You're virtually unflappable.

You're probably getting angry as often as most people. Monitor your episodes of temper and see if you can lower your score on this test in six months.

You have plenty of room for improvement. Try reading Dr. Albert Ellis' excellent book entitled How to Control Your Anger.

You may not need professional help but you still need to work on controlling your temper. There are many books in the library to help you; check the subject heading: ANGER/SELF HELP.

Chances are you have a very short fuse. You may want to seek professional help.

Help Now

What can I do to help me in managing anger right now?

Assume the other person didn’t intend to make you angry. What gets us all riled up is the thought that another person intended to make us angry. But this is rarely the case. (It’s almost like assuming that when two people are laughing across a room they are laughing at you.) Most people who make you angry do it completely unintentionally. When you fully realize this it will defuse a lot of the anger you experience in life. If it’s a friend, family member or coworker, don’t even hint that your angry. Just ask them why they did what they did, and you’ll invariably find out that if they knew you were bothered by it, they wouldn’t have done it.

Assume that the other person had a good reason for doing what they did. If you knew that a person who cut you off in traffic was rushing his or her child to the hospital would you let it bother you? Of course you wouldn’t. A lot of the times, people have very good reasons for doing the things they do that unintentionally make us angry. In fact, this is true most of the time. So why not assume it’s true all of the time until proven otherwise. So if a stranger cuts you off on a highway, you’ll never know the reason why. But if you assume they had a good reason, YOU are the one who will feel less stressed. If it’s someone you know who did something that on the surface seems inconsiderate, don’t jump to conclusions. Assume they had a good reason and again, YOU are the who will feel less stressed.